Offc Action Outgoing

NSI

the American Academy of Family Physicians

Offc Action Outgoing

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

SERIAL NO: 76/437230

APPLICANT: The American Dietetic Association

CORRESPONDENT ADDRESS:

JORDAN S. WEINSTEIN

1755 JEFFERSON DAVIS HWY

ARLINGTON VA 22202-3509

RETURN ADDRESS:

Commissioner for Trademarks

2900 Crystal Drive

Arlington, VA 22202-3514

ecom114@uspto.gov

MARK: NSI

CORRESPONDENT’S REFERENCE/DOCKET NO: 226386US-56

CORRESPONDENT EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please provide in all correspondence:

1. Filing date, serial number, mark and

applicant's name.

2. Date of this Office Action.

3. Examining Attorney's name and

Law Office number.

4. Your telephone number and e-mail address.

OFFICE ACTION

TO AVOID ABANDONMENT, WE MUST RECEIVE A PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS OFFICE ACTION WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF OUR MAILING OR E-MAILING DATE.

Serial Number 76/437230

This letter responds to applicant’s communication filed on August 12, 2003. The examining attorney acknowledges and has entered into the record applicant’s amended recitation of services, signed declaration and amended drawing page.

The examining attorney required applicant to disclaim the letters “NSI” because they are a recognized acronym for nutrition screening initiative. Applicant has attempted to obviate the requirement for the disclaimer by entering a claim of acquired distinctiveness of the letters based on five years use. The examining attorney rejects applicant’s claim of acquired distinctiveness because it is inconsistent with the dates of use claim by the applicant in the original application. Applicant has indicated the first use of the mark anywhere was on June 17, 2002. According to these dates, the claim of acquired distinctiveness is rejected and the requirement for a disclaimer of the letters “NSI” is maintained.

/Won T. Oh/

Law Office 114

(703) 308 - 9114 x-176

email: ecom114@uspto.gov

How to respond to this Office Action:

To respond formally using the Office’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS), visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/teas/index.html and follow the instructions.

To respond formally via E-mail, visit http://www.gov.uspto.report/web/trademarks/tmelecresp.htm and follow the instructions.

To respond formally via regular mail, your response should be sent to the mailing Return Address listed above and include the serial number, law office and examining attorney’s name on the upper right corner of each page of your response.

To check the status of your application at any time, visit the Office’s Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR) system at http://tarr.gov.uspto.report/

For general and other useful information about trademarks, you are encouraged to visit the Office’s web site at http://www.gov.uspto.report/main/trademarks.htm

FOR INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS OFFICE ACTION, PLEASE CONTACT THE ASSIGNED EXAMINING ATTORNEY.